Staff and Students

Stephaniehas been working with our team since 2010 as research coordinator. Stephanie oversees the running of the laboratory and collaborates on most aspects of ongoing projects from protocol development to data collection, data analysis and manuscript preparation. She mentors students and staff in our office and presents our findings at conferences. She is also responsible for overseeing the coordination of the different phases of our mobile app projects. Stephanie holds a Masters degree in molecular biology from McGill University’s department of Experimental Medicine, and has previously worked in veterinary research and website creation.

Senior Research Assistant: Skye Miner

Skye is a PhD student in Sociology at McGill University. As part of the CIHR Infotility team, Skye is working on creating evidence-based content surrounding the medical and psychosocial aspects of infertility for our mobile health apps. Her dissertation research explores the consequences of Canada’s Assisted Human Reproduction Act on fertility practices and services involving egg donors.

Joy holds an MA in Developmental Psychology from McGill University and a Master of Public Health in Family and Community Health with a specialization in Maternal and Child Health from Harvard University. She has worked for over 10 years as a Research and Planning Officer in perinatal and early childhood prevention programs in the Quebec Public Health Network. She is responsible for the knowledge translation aspect of Infotility through community relations, stakeholder partnerships and social media.

Post Doctoral Fellow: Vanessa Lecompte

Vanessa obtained her Ph.D. in developmental psychology in 2015. Her main research interests focus on the etiology and outcomes of attachment disorganization in different populations. Vanessa will be working in analyzing the data from the app studies.

Students

Ph.D. Candidate: Paul Grunberg

Paul is a Ph.D. candidate in Clinical Psychology at McGill University. Using both quantitative and qualitative methods, he seeks to better understand the online experiences of people who suffer from chronic medical conditions, such as infertility. Paul has a particular interest in the use of web-based platforms for providing and receiving peer support and the effect of peer support on the psychological well-being of such individuals.

Masters Students

Felicia Brochu is completing a Master’s degree in Psychiatry at McGill University. Her project involves the use of mobile health (mHealth) technology for promoting a sense of empowerment in patients undergoing fertility treatment. Felicia is particularly interested in finding innovative ways to improve the health and well-being of diverse patient populations.

Shrinkhala Dawadi is an MSc student studying the associations between app use, mental health symptomatology, and uptake of counselling services. Her broader research interests include pathways to mental health service use/accessibility of mental health services.

Eden Gelgoot is a master’s student in the Department of Psychiatry at McGill University. She is interested in the impact of mobile technology on the delivery of patient-centred health care. For her master’s research project, Eden is examining the impact of health literacy on patients’ ability to navigate and benefit from the app.

Research Assistants

Shiyang (Alice) Shen is a recent B.Sc. graduate of Physiology and Psychology from McGill University. With skills in quantitative research as well as graphics design, she will be contributing to the app content development as a Research Assistant. She also has diverse interests including radio production and health advocacy. Alice also founded McGill’s Women’s Health Advocacy Club to raise awareness of gender-based health disparities.

Karolanne Gagné has an MA in psychology research and an MSc in couple and family therapy. She is a peer support coordinator and research assistant with Infotility, as well as a licensed couple and family therapist and psychotherapist. Her research interests are related to couples struggling with fertility issues and life transitions, such as a first pregnancy and empty nest issues.

Rachel Idelson has a Masters of Social Work from McGill University. She is a clinical social worker and peer support coordinator. Her research interests in the area of infertility include the use of mobile health applications for peer support, and examining the quality of fertility information on the internet. Rachel’s clinical work is focused on a trauma-informed approach for women who have experienced intimate partner violence.

Siobhan O’Connell recently received her Bachelor’s degree in Sociology with a minor in Mathematics from McGill University. Her research interests include gender studies and criminology, and she enjoys using both qualitative and quantitative research methods. As part of the Infotility team, Siobhan is working on preparing databases and organizing the data collected from the Infotility studies for analysis.